In a statement New York-listed TEN said a major Japanese trading house has hired the vessel for another 12 months.
“This fixture has profit-sharing provisions attached and excluding those, the company expects to generate a minimum of $5m in gross revenues over the duration of the contract,” the owner added without elaborating further.
While the company didn’t identify the counterparty, rate or name of the vessel market sources believe the ship may be the 53,000-dwt Ariadne (built 2006).
TEN, which is based in Athens, operates six MRs. Of these, industry observers note regulatory filings indicate this is the only unit tied to a contract scheduled to expire this month.
According to Compass Maritime Services,a sale-and-purchase broker based in the US, MR tankers are currently commandingday rates of around $14,500 when fixed for a year.
TEN also used Monday’s statement as an opportunity to announce the commencement of an alliance with a leading European oil major by way of a time charter involving a ‘DNA’ aframax that had, until now, traded in the spot market.
As TradeWinds has reported DNA is a reference to a series of 105,000-dwt tankers that are shorter than typical aframaxes and boast a shallower draft. These design elements give the ships greater flexibility, particularly in the US Gulf and Caribbean.
